Introduction to Using the Marketing Mix What you’ll learn to do: explain how organizations use the marketing mix to market to their target customers Now that we know what tools are available to create value, how can we use them most effectively? In this section we’ll cover a number of examples; later in the course we’ll discuss the role of the marketing mix in the planning process and in a range of specific… Read More »how organizations use the marketing mix to market to their target customers

Components of the Marketing Mix LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe the marketing mix Product In the marketing mix, the term “product” means the solution that the customer wants and needs. In this context, we focus on the solution rather than only on the physical product. Examples of the product include: The Tesla Model S, a premium electric car A Stay at a Holiday Inn Express, a low-price national hotel chain Doritos Nachos Cheese, a… Read More »Components of the Marketing Mix

What you’ll be able to do: describe the marketing mix The value proposition explains why a consumer should buy a product or use a service and how the product or service will add more value, or better solve a problem, than other similar offerings. Once you get the value proposition right, you still have to actually deliver value to your target customer. The marketing mix describes the tools that marketers use to create value for… Read More »Reaching Customers through the Marketing Mix

Value Proposition Examples LEARNING OBJECTIVE Evaluate examples of value propositions The Value Proposition in Action Let’s take a look at some real examples and evaluate them. Are they clear, compelling, and differentiating? Keep in mind that you may not be the target market for all of these examples. Your role as a marketer is to evaluate them from the perspective of the target customer.  Pinterest Source: https://www.pinterest.com/ This value proposition doesn’t… Read More »Value Proposition Examples

Introduction to the Evaluation of Value Propositions What you’ll learn to do: evaluate examples of value propositions If you were asked to evaluate the solution to an easy math problem, such as 24 + 17 = 45, you could definitely say whether it’s right or wrong. If, on the other hand, you were asked to evaluate a painting by a modern artist and judge it “good” or “bad,” you would have to make a judgment based… Read More »Introduction to the Evaluation of Value Propositions

Communicating the Value Proposition LEARNING OBJECTIVE Define and communicate an organization’s value proposition in a competitive marketplace What Is a Value Proposition? We have discussed the complexity of understanding customer perceptions of value. As the company seeks to understand and optimize the value of its offering, it also must communicate the core elements of value to potential customers. Marketers do this through a value proposition, defined as follows: A business or… Read More »Communicating the Value Proposition

Introduction to the Value Proposition What you’ll be able to do: define and communicate an organization’s value proposition in a competitive marketplace Once you know your target market, you must have a compelling way to communicate your value proposition. This requires the marketer to answer a number of questions: What is value? Each customer will weigh the benefits and the costs of an offering differently and determine whether it is providing value. It is… Read More »define and communicate an organization’s value proposition in a competitive marketplace

Value for the Customer LEARNING OBJECTIVE Define and communicate an organization’s value proposition in a competitive marketplace What Is Value? Earlier in this module we discussed that marketing exists to help organizations understand, reach, and deliver value to their customers. In it’s simplest form, value is the measure of the benefit gained from a product or service relative to the full cost of the item. Value = benefit − cost In the process of the… Read More »Value for the Customer

Defining Your Target Market LEARNING OBJECTIVE Briefly explain the concepts of segmentation and targeting Whom Are You Trying to Reach? Suppose you are selling automotive detailing products. Is your target “anyone with money to pay for your product?” Or are you focusing your efforts on a tightly defined market niche of people with an identified need for what you are selling? “Anyone with money” is such a broad audience that it’s… Read More »Your Target Market : Whom Are You Trying to Reach?

Introduction to Segmentation and Targeting What you’ll learn to do: briefly explain the concepts of segmentation and targeting We have established that the customer is at the center of marketing and arguably of business, as well. How do businesses find and communicate with customers? Let’s think about a couple of realities in the business world. First, every organization has limited resources. Organizations simply cannot do everything and be all things to… Read More »Introduction to Segmentation and Targeting